Quote Originally Posted by Mr. MacDougall View Post
It's the same kind of nickname for a sailor that "jarhead" is for a Marine, or "grunt" for a soldier. (I can't think of one for the Air Force... someone want to share?) It ain't kind from a stranger, but we'll take it from each other.
During WWII one term was "junior birdman", from this little ditty:

Into the air, junior birdmen
Into the air, upside down;
Into the air, junior birdmen
Keep your nose up in the brown;
And when you see all those birdmen
With their shiny wings of tin
Then you will know the junior birdmen
Have sent their boxtops in!
A variant of this song is sung in To Hell and Back, the story of Audie Murphy.

Todd